Stars (Reddie fanfic)

Chapter 15: Promise

I climb on the roof and go to his window. It was dark in his room. I wondered vaguely if I should go and not wake him sense he was sick, but my want to see him was greater at that point.

I knock lightly on the window, but the curtains didn't open.

I knocked again a little harder, but wanted to make sure his mom didn't wake up too. Still nothing.

Finally I risk it and bang on his window, but I just do it once.

That did the trick because I see a light come on through the crack in the curtains. Eddie peeks through them and then pushes them fully open.

He opens the window and I hop inside.

"Hey, Rich." He yawns and rubs his eyes.

"Sorry I woke you. I know you were sick today, but I wanted to see you."

Eddie smiles sweetly. "I'm glad you came."

Instead of the roof, we sat down on his bed, leaning against the headboard. Eddie slides under the covers and curls up beside, tucking himself under my right arm. He then wraps his arm across my stomach.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." I use my right hand to twiddle with his soft hair.

"That's sweet of you. I'm okay though."

"I'm sorry I didn't make sure you were okay last night. I noticed that you seemed worried about something, but I just didn't ask. How was it with your mom when you got home?"

Eddie tenses under my arm. "She was mad, but I expected that."

I move my hand from his hair and now use both arms to wrap him up in a comforting hug.

"Are you sure because you seemed a lot more nervous than just a regular 'my kid stayed out late' lecture."

Eddie didn't say a word.

"Eds, come on, answer me. What actually happens with your mom? Because you were fine when we were at the clubhouse, but you definitely weren't fine when we got to your house and then suddenly you were sick today."

This could've been a regular 'I was sick today' case, but something inside me knew that that wasn't what happened. Something else happened, but Eddie wouldn't tell me.

Eddie took a deep sigh before speaking. "My mom was really mad. She yelled at me and she..." he swallowed hard, "she gave me pills." He was whispering barely loud enough for me to hear.

"You take lots of pills, Eds. What do you mean?"

"She has a bottle of special pills that I have to take if I break a rule. They make me nauseous and dizzy and I always blackout because of them. That's why I was sick today."

He was still whispering, but what he's just said screamed volumes at me. "She drugged you?!" I lift him off my chest and look at him directly, cupping his face in my hands.

He wouldn't look at me, but finally nodded.

We were sitting up now and I pulled him into a tight, protective hug, His hands were on my chest. We stayed like that for awhile.

"I hate her! I HATE HER!" I was screaming in my head.

Finally Eddie breaks the silence. "They're all fake."

"What's fake?"

"The pills. All the pills I take. They're all placebos except for the special pills. And so is my asthma medication. It's basically just water with a medicine taste. I didn't even have asthma to begin with, but now my body is convinced it does."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"I found out a few years ago. But I still take all the pills because I'm too scared not too. I don't know what my mom would do is she found out I didn't take them anymore. Plus my bodies so used to them now, it would probably react really bad if I stopped."

"Eds... does anyone know about this?" I ask remembering Stan earlier that day. He knew that Eddie was sick because he was late coming home last night.

"Stanley's the only person I've ever told."

"Eddie, you're mom is forcing you to take medication. We have to tell somebody." I say urgently

He pushes me away and sits upright. "No! We're not telling anyone!"

"Eddie, this is really serious. Someone has to know about this." I say, an anger towards his mom growing inside me.

"And what, no one has to know about your parents?" He asks angrily

I flinch. That was a low blow, but still a good point. Who am I to talk about reporting a bad parent when I've got two at home.

"You have to promise me you won't tell anybody! I'll be 18 in a few years and then I won't have to take another pill ever again." He says pleadingly

"Eds-" but Eddie cuts me off

"Don't call me that! And I mean it, you have to promise!"

Every inch of me was telling me not to agree to a promise like this, but he's been keeping the secret about my parents. So I go against my better judgement.

"I promise."